Subcontractor pre-qualification: what to actually ask for

Pro Site Docs · Guide

Under CDM 2015 you must not appoint anyone unless you have taken reasonable steps to satisfy yourself they have the skills, knowledge, experience — and, where they are an organisation, the organisational capability — for the work. That is a check you have to be able to evidence, not a feeling about a firm you have used before.

What to collect

• Health and safety policy — required in writing where they employ five or more people
• Employers’ liability and public liability insurance — check the dates and the limits, not just that a certificate exists
• Training and competence records for the people who will actually be on your site
• Sample RAMS from comparable work — the fastest way to see whether they write documents or download them
• Accident and enforcement history, including any prohibition or improvement notices
• References from recent, comparable projects
• Equipment and inspection records where they are bringing plant or lifting equipment

Organisational capability is the part people skip

An excellent operative does not make a capable organisation. Capability means the firm has the people, the supervision and the systems to run the work — that they can cover absence, supervise a second gang, and manage their own subcontractors if they use any. Ask how the work will be supervised and by whom, by name.

Proportionate, not punishing

The duty is to take reasonable steps. A two-day job for a sole trader does not need the pack you would ask of a groundworks firm running ten operatives. Over-asking has a real cost: small firms stop bidding, and the ones who do return you a folder of documents nobody reads. Scale the questions to the risk of the work.

Check it is current, and check it again

Most pre-qualification failures are not missing documents — they are expired ones. Insurance lapses, cards expire, the trained supervisor leaves. Record expiry dates when you file the pack, and re-check at the point of appointment rather than relying on last year’s review.

Get the documents ready-made

Our competence and training templates include pre-qualification questionnaires and competence matrices, or take single documents.

General guidance only. This article explains how the rules generally work in UK construction. It is not advice for your specific site, task or project, and it is not legal advice. Your own risk assessment, method statement and arrangements must be prepared and checked by a competent person for the actual work being done.